


we have been all the hapless lovers

by potstickermaster



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: F/F, dense clueless lesbians
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-13
Updated: 2018-09-13
Packaged: 2019-07-11 21:13:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15980621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/potstickermaster/pseuds/potstickermaster
Summary: or the four times lena helped kara with her clothes and the one time kara helped lena with hers





	we have been all the hapless lovers

**Author's Note:**

> Hello there. I've forgotten how to write so please forgive this trash and all its mistakes, I just missed them. Thanks for reading!

 

_we have been all the hapless_   
_lovers in this wayward world_   
_in almost all kinds of ways_   
_except we never really meet_   
_but for this kind of burning_

from _A Kind of Burning_  by Ophelia Dimalanta

 

/

 

 

i.

 

“I don’t understand why you need my help with this,” Lena murmurs as she puts back the blouse she inspected back on the rack. She glances to Kara, who is frowning at the three different shirts laid out on her bed. “Your fashion sense is  _ fine.”  _

Kara waves her hand distractedly and lifts a dark green shirt from the group. “I know, but you’re a hotshot CEO and I need to make sure I make a  _ great  _ impression during my interview,” she says. She places the shirt over her chest and turns to Lena. “How about this one?” 

Lena looks her over and shakes her head quickly. “Blue is more of your color, darling,” she replies, only noticing the term of endearment once it’s out. Instead of focusing on it, she flips across the different hangers on the rack and pulls out a pastel blue button-up she has considered earlier. “You do know that your skills are what they’re hiring you for, right?” 

Kara walks over to Lena and touches the hem of the shirt. “Yes, but first impressions,” she mumbles. “Then a nice jacket over it, right?” 

Lena lets out a chuckle and reaches out to lift Kara’s face by her chin with her forefinger. A light blush dusts the blonde’s cheeks, right under her glasses, and she meets Lena’s gaze. The CEO smirks. “Yes, a nice jacket over it.” She hands Kara the shirt. “Go try it out so I can see.” 

Kara nods and takes the shirt. She puts it on the bed and easily shrugs off her shirt. Lena’s eyes widen at the action . Not that she hasn’t seen Kara in just her underwear—it’s a thing now, what with their occasional sleepovers and spa getaways and beach visits, but she still feels like she’s invading Kara’s privacy.  That, and she is trying to avoid intensifying the fluttering of butterflies in her belly that make themselves known when she is around Kara—a feeling that goes into overdrive when so much as sees a sliver of perfect, bulletproof skin. It’s bad, especially when she  _ knows  _ Kara can hear the change in her heartbeat, but thankfully Kara never says anything. Lena focuses her attention to the rack of clothes, busying herself as the blonde changes.

“As your employer, I should be stopping you from interviewing at another media network,” Lena muses once she has gotten her bearings together. 

“You really should be,” Kara laughs.

Lena smiles to herself. “Yes, but as your best friend, I know a great career opportunity when I see one, and you working for an international network like CNN is fantastic.” 

“Right,” Kara sighs. “How do I look?” 

Lena turns to look at her. The air in her lungs vanish at the sight of Kara, stunning in her pastel blue shirt, tucked in dark blue ankle pants. She is wearing a matching jacket. Kara nervously lifts herself on her tiptoes and brushes away invisible lint from the left cuff. “I was thinking maybe high heels with them?” Kara adds. 

Lena purses her lips, and Kara swallows as she looks down at her outfit. “Is it not good?” 

Oh, it’s good, alright. So good, Lena thinks. She sighs heavily, trying to breathe away thoughts of quite possibly unbuttoning that nice shirt, but Kara seems to take it negatively. “I could—”

“You look good,” Lena finally says, and she walks over to gently fix the lapel of the jacket. Kara lets out a sigh of relief, then bites her lip. 

“Makes for a good, hireable impression?” She asks.

Lena laughs. “I’ll make you CEO if you want,” she shoots back, and Kara lets out a laugh that is less nervous, more delighted, and there is a sparkle in her eyes that Lena commits to memory.

 

Kara declines the job offer.

 

 

ii.

 

Kara follows behind Lena quietly. The CEO glances back at her as they walk into the tie shop, a specialty boutique near National City. Kara is looking around at the different suits and ties on display. Lena is supposed to get a new necktie for Jack’s birthday, and the blonde volunteered to come. 

Lena stops in front of a mannequin. On it is a dapper-looking dark green suit, finished with a bright yellow paisley silk necktie and pocket square. Kara makes a small sound of wonder as she steps beside Lena and gives the fabric a slight touch.

“What necktie is he looking for?” Kara asks. Lena glances at her to see the blonde carefully studying the wooden buttons of the cuff. 

“Probably something expensive,” Lena jokes. “It’s more of a tradition now that I keep giving him ties and such, but he does like showing them off.” 

“Jack? Showing off?” Kara giggles. “I find that hard to believe.” She goes to look at the other neckties on display—a variety of ties made of spun silk lined up on a glass case. Lena laughs and follows her. 

“He’s mostly nice when he’s around other people,” she quips. Kara points at a necktie with nautical-themed patterns. 

“That one’s cute,” Kara says, then gasps as she checks the price tag. “Three hundred dollars? For a  _ tie?  _ Seriously?” 

Lena shrugs. “They’re made of great fabric?” She offers. 

Kara snorts. “Do you know how many potstickers I can buy with three hundred dollars?” She mumbles. 

Lena laughs. “You can’t wear potstickers, darling.” 

“I’ll have a necktie with a potstickers print on it,” Kara says with a chuckle. 

They go on to look at the other neckties on display. Kara keeps mumbling under her breath about how expensive the ties are, yet keeps touching the fabrics they are made of. They find one that the store attendant said is actually made of gold and silk, and when Lena asks how much it is, Kara actually chokes on air. 

“You can’t possibly spend eight thousand dollars on a necktie, Lena,” Kara mutters when they put the gold tie back on the glass case. Lena just shrugs but makes a mental note of purchasing it when she doesn’t have Kara with her lest she wants her to have a heart attack. They linger a while though, checking the various ties on display.

“This will look nice on you,” Lena murmurs and takes the navy blue, white-dotted wool tie from the rack they are perusing. She turns to Kara and slides it against the collar of her light pink shirt. “Can you try it?” 

“I don’t—” Kara puffs her cheeks and eyes the necktie, obviously debating whether to say no. “I don’t know how to tie a tie,” she settles with. 

Lena raises an eyebrow, mentally pleased Kara didn’t decline. “Really? You’ve never worn one?” 

Kara shrugs. “The pre-tied ones, yes.” 

Lena scrunches her nose. “Thank god I love you, because that’s the worst thing you’ve ever managed to say,” she mutters as she carefully unrolls the tie. “Can I?” She asks.

Kara jerks a nod. Lena smiles at her and places the tie around her neck. There is a blush on Kara’s cheek that Lena only notices now, and for a brief moment she mentally backtracks what she just said. When realization dawns on her, she swallows thickly. Sometimes her mind gets her into trouble, but instead of dealing with the matter, she carefully tucks the length of the tie under Kara’s collar. 

“There are different ways to tie a tie,” Lena says as she adjusts the length of the fabric. She is of perfect height to do this for Kara, and the thought of it makes her heart skip a beat. She crosses the wide end over the other and turns it underneath, then brings it up and down through the loop. “Depends on the occasion and of course, the wearer’s taste,” she continues in a way to distract herself. She hums and proceeds to take the wide end and loops it to the front. 

“How did you even learn to tie one?” Kara asks, her voice soft, almost shaky if Lena only took notice. The raven-haired woman glances up at her and shrugs.

“Jack gave me the most practice. He  _ knows _ how to tie one but doesn’t know how to do it properly.” Lena chuckles. “It’s also why I almost always judge the men I meet based on their neckties. But I learned from Lex. He taught me because, and I quote, ‘you’re probably going to marry a businessman, Lena, and this is one of the very few things you should do for your husband,’” she mocks. The two women share a laugh at that, and Lena smiles at how easy things like these are easy with Kara—or at least, have become easier now. 

She tightens the knot and straightens Kara’s collar. Biting her lip, Lena smooths Kara’s tie with the back of her fingers. “There,” she whispers. She steps back to look at Kara, and gestures to the full-body mirror just beside them. 

Kara turns to look at herself, too, and the smile that takes over her lips makes Lena think of things she shouldn’t really be thinking of. She clears her throat. “Should we get it?” Lena asks.

Blue eyes widen and Kara turns to Lena to shake her head. “I don’t- it’s  _ really  _ expensive, Lena—”

“But you like it?” Lena clarifies. 

Kara closes her mouth and touches the knot. She doesn’t answer, but Lena takes it as a yes. She calls for the attendant’s attention before Kara could say anything, and when the blonde makes a sound of protest, Lena just smiles at her. 

“A sleepover with  _ no  _ musical to watch and we’ll call it even,” she offers.

Kara rolls her eyes playfully but nods. “I’ll allow  _ two  _ musical-less sleepovers.” 

Lena laughs and ignores the way her stomach flips again and again when Kara grins at her, so charmingly that Lena almost wants to pull her close by that stupid necktie and kiss her.

 

Three weeks later, Lena gifts Kara another tie, silk and printed with little potsticker patterns. Kara wears it to work the next day to her big meeting with the editors. Lena watches her accept the compliments with a bashful grin, and each time, Kara would meet Lena’s gaze and crinkle her nose with a heartwarming smile that had Lena’s chest aching.

 

 

iii.

 

“Snapper is mad, isn’t he?” 

Lena laughs as she transfer her phone to her other ear. She eyes the folders on her desk in front of her before casting a glance towards Snapper’s office, where he is yelling at one of the interns. “Oh, he definitely is,” she murmurs. “Not at you though.”

“Not yet, at least,” Kara mumbles. “I have a deadline and a meeting in like, ten minutes and the DEO still hasn’t cleared me to leave.” 

Lena bites her lip. “Everything okay?” 

Kara sighs. “Just something radioactive,” she answers. Lena raises an eyebrow but before she could ask, Kara continues. “I’m fine, they’re just making sure I don’t leak radiation all over the city. That isn’t why I called though.” 

Lena laughs. “And what can I do for you, Ms. Danvers?” The CEO hears Alex over the phone, yelling at Kara to stay still and keep her feet off the desk, and Kara mumbles something in Kryptonian that, if Lena remembers correctly from her lessons from the blonde herself, means Kara isn’t entirely pleased about being held back at the DEO. “Someone’s grouchy.” 

“I ripped my shirt on my way here,” Kara sighs. 

“That’s not entirely new,” Lena giggles, though she bites her lip at the image the words bring forth from her mind. The blonde just huffs. 

“Yeah but I forgot to replace my clothes in my locker and I don’t really want to meet Snapper and his judgemental colleagues wearing a DEO tracksuit, so.” Kara sighs again. “Do you, by any chance, keep any extra clothes with you? I mean, I can superspeed my way back home but—” 

“I do, actually,” Lena says. “Your size, too.” 

“Really?” 

Lena laughs. “I like being prepared, what can I say?” 

Kara lets out a sigh of relief. “You’re a lifesaver,” she says. “I just wish they’d let me out already.” 

“I’ll deal with Snapper. Take your time,” Lena promises. 

She ends the call after telling Kara to stay safe. Kara thanks her again; as if there is a lot to thank for. If anything, Lena and the rest of National City should be thanking Supergirl for keeping the city safe once again, but she supposes she could extend her thanks another way. Lena makes her way to Snapper’s office, intent on stalling the editor for a good hour.

“We need to talk about tomorrow’s headline,” Lena says as she shows Snapper the draft in her hand, and when the man frowns, Lena knows she got him by the neck.

She receives a text from Kara fifteen minutes later, telling her that Alex is almost ready to let her go. Lena excuses herself and tells Snapper that she’ll go over their revisions, then the CEO is making her way back to her desk. There she keeps a nondescript box that almost looks like a file drawer that she had installed three days after Kara revealed her identity as Supergirl to her.  Not that she ever thought she would need to use it, but it never hurt to be prepared. In the drawer are a couple of yellow sun bombs she didn’t have a clearance to develop herself, a pair of red sun pistols she developed with Winn, some GPS trackers and adjustable sound emitters, an extra Supergirl cape, and of course, several pairs of outfits for Kara for the very situation she currently finds herself in. Lena is a planner, after all, and though she knows Supergirl is almost invincible, she fixates herself on the  _ almost  _ part. 

Sometimes, it pays to be a cunning Luthor. 

She presses her thumb against the circular metal plate that masquerades as a lock, which beeps after a second and pops the drawer door open. Lena takes a packet neatly labeled with  _ casual  _ and texts Kara to meet her at the CatCo rooftop.

Just as the CEO walks out of the fire exit door, the blonde lands, her hair windswept. Lena smiles at her in greeting and hands her the packet of clothes.

“Nothing fancy or out of the ordinary,  I promise,” Lena says.

“Gosh, thank you! I’ll bring over the moon tonight if you want me to,” Kara says with a laugh as she takes the clothes from Lena. She grins, and in a blink of an eye she’s gone. 

Lena lets out a breathless laugh, and a moment later Kara’s back again, now dressed in the dress shirt and slacks Lena brought for her. “Honestly though, movie  tonight?” Kara offers, then winces. “You didn’t hear that but I did. I gotta go deal with Snapper before he tries to fire me again. Thanks, Lena,” she hurries, and then she’s gone once more.

Lena bites her lip and stares at the space where Kara stood a heartbeat ago. There is an ache on her chest that could only be described as longing, and despite Kara’s superhearing, at least she isn’t able to hear that. 

Thank god for small mercies, because falling for her best friend is certainly something she never planned for.

 

Two months later, while Kara is weakened by a solar flare and CatCo is attacked by a pair of mercenaries in search for a refugee who oddly looked like Snapper, Lena helps by blasting one of the yellow bombs off.  _ Director  _ Danvers gives her an earful later, but Kara thanks her with a tight hug that made Alex’s long-winded rant worth it.

 

 

iv.

 

Alex is late. To her own wedding of all things, and while Kara did call tell Lena to tell her the situation and to stall the wedding—or at least distract Sam enough so she doesn’t worry—Lena still ends up worrying. Sam just nods in understanding when Lena tells her, but the raven-haired woman knows she is worried too. It’s one of the things that never really quite leave them, not when they know of the nature of Alex’s and Kara’s jobs. 

Not that Kara knows Lena worries far more than a best friend should. 

She takes Kara’s clothes to the second floor of the beach house near the wedding setup and waits. She checks her phone for updates and reads news of an alien attack at a university. The police has just arrived, but thankfully Supergirl and an unknown person in a suit that bears the same crest stopped them. 

The sound of a swishing cape takes Lena’s attention. “Finally,” she sighs when Kara lands on the balcony. There is the loud roar of a motorcycle outside. “Sam is  _ pissed.” _

Kara laughs as she uses her superspeed to put on an outfit similar to Lena’s—a white shirt tucked in dark khaki pants, finished with matching belt and suspenders. “I’d be pissed too if my own fiancée is late to our wedding,” she muses. 

“I’m sure your fiancée will understand,” Lena mumbles distractedly. A thought makes itself known but she ignores it, instead takes the colorful boutonnière on the nearby desk and moves to pin it on the left strap of Kara’s suspenders.

“Don’t prick me,” Kara jokes. Lena glares at her and exaggerates safely pinning the flowers against the material. She pulls back to look at Kara’s outfit. She smiles to herself, pleased, and brushes her fingers against the satin ribbon of the boutonnière. 

“You look beautiful, by the way,” Kara whispers, and Lena looks up at her in surprise. She breathes out a nervous laugh.

“And you look rather handsome, you charmer,” Lena teases. There is a fleeting moment of silence that passes between them. Lena’s heart races. Kara smiles at her, soft and warmer than the setting sun in the horizon, but then Kara sighs and bobs her head to the direction of the wedding. 

“I just heard Alex looking for us,” Kara murmurs. She offers her arm to Lena. “Shall we?” 

Lena shakes her head and laughs as she loops her arm around Kara’s. “Come on. It’s enough the bride herself is late.” 

“In our defense, the city needed saving,” Kara quips. 

Lena gently pants Kara’s  bicep. “I’m sure Alex will be forgiven tonight, darling.” 

 

Lena’s dreams echo Kara’s words over and over, even days after the wedding, and when she thinks of the beach, she imagines her and Kara, vowing forever to each other. It’s then the nightmare sequence begins, and Lena wakes up with the now-familiar ache swirling in her chest. There are nights that Kara would suddenly arrive on her balcony, when she wakes up from these nightmares, and the blonde would explain that she was out on patrol when she heard Lena’s heartbeat race, and that she just wanted to make sure Lena was okay.

She wasn’t, but she tells Kara she was, anyway. Nonetheless, Kara often stays the night.

 

 

v.

 

It’s become familiar for Lena to wake up on a bed that isn’t hers. For some reason, Kara’s bed is softer and warmer—or maybe it’s the Kryptonian she usually wakes up to, lying beside her, berry-scented blonde hair splayed over her pillow, her soft snores echoing in the room.

This specific morning though, Kara isn’t beside her. Lena sits up and stretches to find the wind gently blowing through the curtains of an open window, which means Kara is out dealing with some superhero business. She verifies it when she checks her phone to find a text and voice mail from Kara. 

“Hey Lee, had to deal with something,” the voice mail goes. It goes quiet for a moment, but then Lena hears a grunt and a low growl. “Don’t be rude! I’m trying to—that’s it! I’ll be back before brunch, Lee.” 

The call ends with a loud, high-pitched scream and a Kryptonian curse that makes Lena laugh. She rolls out of bed and makes her way to the kitchen to start brewing coffee. Her weekend work grind has vanished since growing closer to Kara, though she does work in between hours when they are not busy with movies or with DEO matters Lena could help with. 

“You’re up,” the familiar voice greets. Lena quirks an eyebrow at the nervous-sounding Kara. She is bringing a paper bag of what smells like croissants, still dressed in her Supergirl suit. 

“I laid out clothes for you on the bed. Is everything okay?” Lena asks. She pours herself some coffee but keeps her attention on Kara. The blonde’s eyebrows are furrowed, like she is deep in thought.

“We need to talk,” Kara starts. 

Lena makes a small sound at that. “Okay?” She frowns. “Did my brother escape or something?” 

“What? No,” Kara mumbles. She puts the paper bag on the desk and starts to pace. Lena watches her, concerned, but keeps quiet. “A DEO agent just asked me if I think you’d date her.”

“Her?” Lena echoes, curiosity tinting her voice. Kara turns to Lena at it. “Who?” 

The blonde frowns. “Vasquez.” 

“Oh. Wait,” Lena tilts her head. “Vasquez, like, Susan Vasquez?” 

Kara crosses her arms. “Yes. But that isn’t the point.” 

Lena bites her lip. “Okay… So what do we need to talk about?” 

“Because she asked me,” Kara says, but pauses. She sighs and waves her arms before crossing them again. “She actually asked me if we were dating. Because she isn’t sure, because she said we looked  _ close  _ enough to be dating and she wanted to make sure.” 

Lena nods slowly, still unsure where the conversation is going. “She could’ve asked me,” she points out.

Kara looks up and meets Lena’s gaze. The raven-haired woman almost falters at the intensity in those blue eyes. “That’s the thing,” Kara says, her voice softer now. “I told her you won’t date her.” 

Lena crosses her arms. There is a retort on her tongue about how Kara doesn’t own her, how she shouldn’t make a decision for her. Not that she would date Vasquez, not with her heart already taken by this bumbling blonde in front of her, but still. There is a rant on her mind, about how she is allowed to date anyone she wanted, especially since she  _ can’t  _ date Kara, how she  _ should  _ be dating someone else so she can distract herself from the ache that had found home in her chest, but she knows that would be unfair to whoever she ended up dating. 

Her current situation isn’t fair on her, but that doesn’t matter.

Kara looks down and fidgets with her hands. She sniffles, and when she looks up, Lena is surprised to see tears in her eyes. “The thing is,” she continues, “I don’t want you to date anyone else.” 

She steps closer. Lena takes a shuddering breath, her mind in overdrive, but she doesn’t want to jump to conclusions—she has taken careful steps to make sure she doesn’t ruin this relationship she has with Kara, has kept her heart shut away to guarantee that she never has to live a life without Kara in it, and she isn’t bound to begin now. 

“For the longest time I’ve had these… feelings,” Kara mumbles. “For you. That I’ve never really quite felt with anyone else. Not like this. And I was terrified what they meant, what they would mean for the both of us. I didn’t want to scare you away.” 

“I’ve almost died several times, Kara,” Lena says with a chuckle, and only then does she realize she is crying. “I hope you know I’ve lost the ability to run away. From you, at least.” 

Kara gives her a small smile. She stands in front of Lena and takes a shaky breath. “So. Um, what I wanted to talk about is…” She bites her lip. “Since everyone seems to think we’re dating—”

“ _ Everyone?”  _

Kara nods. Lena snorts, rather ungracefully, but Kara only takes her hands. The blonde’s hands felt clammy with her nerves and she apologizes, but Lena dismisses the concern away, what with her own shaky hands. “I was wondering if you’d like to make things official,” Kara manages to say. 

Lena laughs. It’s soft and delighted but makes Kara furrow her eyebrows again. The raven-haired woman squeezes Kara’s hands and lifts her right one to cup Kara’s cheek. “Is there a question there?” 

Kara huffs. “Cheeky,” she mumbles, then sighs, but before she could speak, Lena continues with a tear-stained giggle. 

“I’ll go out with you, on one condition.” 

“Okay?” Kara prompts. 

“Kiss me.” 

Kara barks a laugh, and when Lena quirks an eyebrow, she finally leans in to capture Lena’s lips. The world shifts, then; Kara’s movements are slow and tentative, not like she is unsure, but more like on her lips are apologies and promises:  _ I’m sorry I took so long, but I’m here now. _ Lena moves to wrap her arms around Kara’s neck to pull her closer, an apology in itself—they have gone far too long in this dance where they both could have taken the first move and landed safely in the other’s arms, but Lena likes to think she understands. For a businesswoman like her, these kinds of uncertainties—her heart on the line, specifically—are simply unthinkable. Especially when you can earn back lost capital but never unbreak a broken heart.

The blonde puts her hands on Lena’s waist, pulling her closer, too, as if the way their fronts melded against each other isn’t enough. Perhaps it was worth it, the long and winding dance they had gone through, if it meant being held by Kara like this, if it meant kissing Kara like this. 

When her lungs burn with the need for air, Lena pulls away, but only enough for her to still feel the way Kara smiles against her lips. She draws circles on Lena’s waist. 

“You know, I’ve always thought about kissing you,” she whispers, and the admission makes Lena look up to meet her eyes. 

“I love you, you know?” Lena admits, too, and the Girl of Steel seems to crack at the confession. Lena just sighs—maybe it’s too soon, maybe she has already ruined everything, but Kara only smiles.

“That’s funny,” Kara says. “I love you, too.”

They share a laugh, making light of all the days they have spent with their hearts lost in uncertainty. “Remind me to thank Susan,” Lena murmurs.

Kara frowns and presses her forehead against Lena’s. “No.”

Lena grins. “Are you jealous?” She asks, brushing her lips against Kara’s. The blonde huffs and says she isn’t, but Lena kisses away the rest of her worries. 

Maybe it’s all the time they have spent apart, at least emotionally, but at home now in each other’s arms brings forth a multitude of feelings, like everything feels out of control. Lena bites Kara’s lip, making the blonde gasp—perhaps out of surprise. She makes a moan that makes pleasure shoot down Lena’s spine, and Lena takes it as a chance to kiss the blonde more deeply. 

“I feel like we have a lot to catch up on,” Lena murmurs when she pulls back moments later. She gasps when Kara easily lifts her by the waist and pins her against the counter. Lena wraps her legs around Kara’s waist and moans when Kara peppers kisses from the base of her neck up, up until she is capturing her lips into another hungry kiss.

“Bedroom?” Kara whispers against Lena’s lips. Lena lets out a shaky breath and swallows. When she meets Kara’s gaze, her blue eyes are blown with hunger that looked almost familiar. 

“You don’t want to do it in your kitchen?” Lena teases with a slight laugh. Kara licks her lips and easily rips Lena’s satin pajama top open, buttons landing with soft clicks against the tiled floor. 

“That can be arranged,” Kara answers. “Next time, at least.  I want to do it properly for our first time.” A blush settles on her cheeks at the words, and Lena cups Kara’s face, thumbs brushing the pink-dusted skin. 

“I’d say something about ripping my lovely top in half but…” She trails off and kisses Kara again. “Bedroom it is.” 

 


End file.
